SS Astraios: It seems very quiet here with so many ships away on mission. I miss my friends. I await their reports with eagerness, trusting them to carry out their duties with dedication and discipline. I am proud of their accomplishments, and their willingness to take on the mantle of mission command and make the tough decisions that go with that role when on deployment.

Although there does not seem to be much activity at the Colony, behind the scenes, there is always something to discuss. The most pressing problem is... an upcoming event in our neighbouring system.

I have assigned the Sabre Class vessel USS Marco Polo to take our Diplomatic Liaison to the planet Treman to represent UF Starfleet at the funeral services for their Queen. Word from Intel is that her death is somewhat suspicious, but this could be just a rumour... it's hard to separate gossip from reality. Brigadier General Khan is apparently arranging the event, I have no doubt his hat is in the ring for leadership of the planet. However it is known to us that at least two other factions have their eye on the prize as well. The question is, will one of them partner with the other to oust Khan, or will the three factions tear each other apart until only one is left standing. I prefer the former, as a civil war will decimate the population. Better a military coup than a bloodbath.

I can hardly believe I said that. I struggle within myself sometimes with the things we are called to do... or tolerate... or stand by and watch. I have always venerated life in all its forms... strictly vegan in any sentient form I take. In these days of powerful enemies and strained friendships... our ships are fully armoured and we carry the most deadly weaponary we can make. Oh, we offer medical supplies, food, and engineering assistance too... but it seems to me our missions are more dangerous than ever. I wonder how much of that danger we sow ourselves, by appearing ready to do violence at a moment's notice. But in this case... *sighs*

We have our Prime Directive, which constrains me to watch innocent people harmed as I am not to interfere with the internal matters of other species.

The Terran philosopher, Edmund Burke, said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

Yes, we must find a way to avert disaster. Even if it means backing Khan's attempt for power by appearing to be... friendly to him. We won't offer any military assistance, of course. We'll just... look mighty. As Teddy Roosevelt, a Terran president, said: "speak softly and carry a big stick."

I can't see any other way to save precious lives.

A Terran writer, Gene Roddenberry, said: "The Strength of a civilization is not measured by its ability to fight wars, but rather by its ability to prevent them.”

Ready Room, SS Astraios: I have received my first encrypted report from USS Neil Armstrong. Apparently the diplomatic escort we provided to Brigader General Khan's vessel was not enough, he demanded that his Ambassador have access to our flagship, accompanied by our old friend Commander Lee. They were none to pleased to be allowed aboard but then restricted to 10-Forward. Our private concerns were the possibility that the Ambassador and her sidekick might bring some technology aboard the Armstrong. They have, after all, tried to take control of our ship before. Put simply, we don't trust them but have a duty to appear diplomatically friendly. They were delivered to Treman without further incident.

The starchart artifact, once hidden in an asteroid and now revealed to us through the efforts of Science Specialist Isis Gaelyth and Chief Science Officer David7 Bravin, is carefully screened and held behind tight security in cargo bay 4, and closely monitored as well. If it is - and we don't know that it is - some kind of a key to Iconian-related worlds in our neck of the quadrant... a kind of divining rod, then... well. Science is working on some kind of container that might be able to stop any energy emissions from the artifact... we don't want to either alert anyone that we have it, or inadvertently turn on some Iconian technology that's better left alone (like one of those old probes Jean Luc had to deal with, for example). At present we feel relatively confident the presence of the artifact on the ship provides no danger to the crew or vessel. Better there than on Astraios, where it continued to affect our gateway and was a constant concern.

The Treman queen has passed away. We offered our flowery condolences and will be sending our Diplomatic Liaison Officer to the funeral -- providing it will be safe for him to go. I have no doubt there is now going to be a coup. I am ordering the fleet to stand watch. According to Starfleet rules and regulations, we may not interfere with internal issues of any planet. If hostilities break out on Treman between the different factions who seek power, the Prime Directive states we are not to be seen to take sides. We will offer to negotiate or mediate between parties. Meantime I have ordered a team of EID agents to investigate and provide intelligence.

Lastly I am still concerned about the reports of a bomb on a civilian weather station and a borg probe on our sector borders. Colony Chief Security, Capt Barbosa, is to assign teams to investigate each. I await their reports.

Just as well we remain at DefStat 2.

With all this going on, it's hard to sleep. I shall beam down to my little Zen garden and sit with Hars, sipping Earl Grey and discussing what flowers to plant. I need an hour's peace and some distance from my cares.

=HISTORY - The Astraios GatewayAn Iconian gateway, buried in a watery cave to the south of the main UF Starfleet Colony, has long been secretly housed beneath what appears to be nondescript buildings. Its use is restricted to only the highest necessity, and since the advent of slipstream drive and the possibility of using transwarp conduits for long range travel, it has been seldom used, if at all. The highest secrecy surrounds the knowledge of it, and its location, for if it fell into the wrong hands, it could be used to do great wrong. Yet is an object of scientific and engineering study. The facility around it has not only been built to keep people out, but to keep any visitors in. It was long thought to be the last of its kind, yet... intelligence from around the four quadrants has begun to promote the idea that the Iconians were not completely destroyed 200,000 years ago. It is said that they used the gate on Iconia to escape the orbital bombardment of their home planet. It is theorized that they settled on Ikkabar, DiWahn, and Dynassia. Linguistic morphology of the three languages of these different peoples show that they all have the same root language – Iconian. After the gateway on Iconia was destroyed by Capt Jean Luc Pickard to stop it from falling into Romulan hands, another gateway was located on Vandros IV in the Gamma Quadrant. It was also destroyed by Federation forces in order to stop the Jem'Hadar from possessing it. It is whispered that descendents of the Iconians are now becoming a powerful force in the quadrants. It is suspected that more gateways exist – many more, on many planets, throughout the known universe. Thus security around the Astraios gateway is extremely high and further measures are being taken to avoid detection by enemy forces or use by... whoever might come through it. As yet only a handful of senior officers and gateway security teams, along with the leader of the Astraionian Civilian Authority, are aware of its existence..=PREAMBLE- “Yesterday's Darkness” Commander David7 Bravin, Chief Science Officer, examines security records taken in the gateroom during an incident in which a science officer, pushed off balance by the movement of a table placed by the gateway, fell through the gate. Bravin studies the recordings again and again until he realizes only one spot on the artifact was lit up at the time Gaelyth entered the gate. He examines her logs as well as the artifact.

She had theorized that the artifact is part of a starchart. Bravin surmises that it is likely the graphic that glowed at the time of Gaelyth’s movement through the gateway pinpoints where she has gone. He also notes that the artifact, according to her careful use of dating techniques, is likely somewhere between 100,000 and 125,000 years old. The odd energy reading in the gateroom might be linked to the artifact in some way. Records show that the rise in energy readings from the gate began when the asteroid fragment arrived on SS Astraios.

More importantly, a Starfleet officer is missing. Without a key, and without the entire starchart, it is difficult to know where in the universe Gaelyth has gone. But there are two clues. Although near a jagged edge and somewhat damaged, there is an image of a 3 planet system. If that is Astraios... then the system indicated at the time of gate activation is conceivably within the quadrant. And, it is a rare binary system with 13 planets.

The newly refitted USS Neil Armstrong is ordered to find that system, many light years away, through uncharted space. Due to the extreme secrecy around the gate, the mission parameters will be announced as deep space exploration.

There is one other concern. The Treman delegation that came for the Anniversary Celebrations is still on Astraios Prime. Although Astraios sensors show no indication of energy readings outside the gate facility... the delegation was present when the gate was activated and may have recorded the emissions produced by gate activity. Thus a rumor is introduced that an explosion occurred in a facility near the Parade Square but was contained, and that security is seeking the culprits. Captain Toocool contacts Brigadier L.Q. Khan, the Treman leader, and offers to have the UFS Astraios flagship, USS Neil Armstrong, escort his ship back to Treman. Smirking, he accepts.

You are to take command of the USS Neil Armstrong for the duration of this mission.

USS Neil Armstrong and the Treman ship "Bravo" will embark at 1000 hours 140126. The Armstrong will escort the Bravo along the edge of the Taakar Nebula to Treman, then continue on to exit the Astraios Sector, in order to test its new slip stream drive. Your mission will appear to be one of exploration.

The top secret purpose of your journey will be to locate the alleged binary system with 13 planets, and the gateway that may be in that system, along with the person of LT Isis Gaelyth, if she can be found. You are to take and hold in utmost secrecy the starchart artifact in case it may be a key to detecting the other gate and the possibility that unfriendlies or unknowns have control of an Iconian gateway. When you have established the facts, if necessary, you will take any necessary actions to secure your ship, crew, and the Astraios Sector. Only yourself and your Acting First Officer, Cmdr David7 Bravin, and the Chiefs of your Departments are to know these orders, for now.

Commander David7 Bravin, Chief Science Officer, reporting: The necessary repairs to the ship having been completed, we took the USS Neil Armstrong out of Space Dock and set off on a shakedown cruise.

Once out of the Astraios system, we headed towards the asteroids belt at warp 3. Other than a few minor problems, all departments reported that the they were fully operational.

Once we reached the asteroids, Commander Markus decided that we should check out the weapons systems, by firing on some of the asteroids. However before firing commenced I arranged for the area to be checked for life signs (in case someone may have recently landed). With no life signs having been detected, the order was given for Tactical to fire phasers a specific asteroids. The phaser array worked well and the selected asteroids were blown apart.

The transporter system was then checked out by locking onto a one of the smaller pieces of a disintegrated asteroid and beaming it aboard the ship. Once aboard it was transferred to the Science Lab for general analysis.

Checking of the weapons continued by the firing of a few photon torpedoes at the asteroids, before we headed back to Astraios at warp speed.

Having arrived safely at SS Astraios, Science Officer LT London reported that initial analysis indicated that there was a foreign object embedded inside the piece of asteroid that we beamed aboard. As such I granted his request to have the piece of asteroid sent to the Science Labs on SS Astraios for further analysis.

The USS Neil Armstrong returned to Astraios in need of extensive upgrades following the encounter with the Spouwwqna. The necessary upgrades have now been completed. The USS Neil Armstrong is now to go on a patrol of the Sector to check that the ship is fully operational. Subject to all being well, the she will return to Astraios in time for the Colony's Third Anniversary Celebrations.

Commander Genny7 Markus reporting: Finally we are on our way home to Astraios, and having left Commander Bravin in command on the bridge I had settled down in my Office on board the USS Neil Armstrong to catch up on some of my paperwork before we docked.
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It had been a very eventful journey to save the planet Treman from the Spouwwqnas and the Officers and crew have done a wonderful job. I would find it difficult to pick out any for any special praise because they have all performed their duties at the highest standards. First off the ship once we dock will be the two Captains and after them the rest of the wounded on board. Once all stations have been cleared and closed down we will hand the ship over to the engineers who will have their hands full with the repairs.
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Suddenly the ship goes to yellow alert and it was time for me to head for the bridge. They had received a Mayday call from the freighter Elite, commanded by Captain Dover (at the back of my mind the name of the Captain rang a bell).
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Security were very troubled because the freighter still had its shields up and so was being treated as a hostile vessel. I quickly asked Commander Barbosa to check the ship register and because it was a very old ship it took some time to find. Once found, it was clear that the ship was a friendly freighter that brought supplies to Astraios and was well known to the Colony Commander; so we made arrangements with them to tractor them back to Astraios with us.
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Engineering set up the tractor beam and we continued the final leg of our journey on impulse power.
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A cheer from the bridge crew went up when the space station appeared on our forward screen and we watched as Captain Quar at the helm bought us slowly into the space dock.
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Home at last, with the hope of some R&R before the next mission.

Our most recent mission to rid Treman of the Spouwwqnas has been accomplished.
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We have now managed to return the Spouwwqnan to the centre of the Takaaar Nebula and have surrounded the area with warning beacons.
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Looking back, our journey dealing with these aliens has been long and eventful.
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We will now return to Astraios, to enable hospital treatment to be given to the injured and for some well deserved rest, recovery and recreation for the remainder of the crew.

Commander Genny7 Markus reporting: We have left Treman behind us and are heading for the Taakar Nebula at warp 5, all bridge stations report ready.
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As we neared the boundary of the nebula I asked Science to scan as much of the nebula as possible to find out if there were any more Spouwwqnas present and also to find the best area to set our "guest" down. This was made more difficult because of the effect that the nebula has on all of our systems.
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Science suggested that as near to the centre of the nebula would be the best place to set the Spouwwqna down. I gave the order to Helm to set a course to the centre.
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My next question was to Doctor Brogdram at Ops as to whether we should thaw the Spouwwqna out before releasing it. The Doctor thought that it would be better to leave it frozen. I had my doubts but that was taken out of our hands when it was reported that the power had gone out in the cargo bay and the Spouwwqna was beginning to thaw.
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Engineering got straight to work to restore the power, but the nebula had other ideas.
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Luckily we were near the centre of the nebula when we all heard the Spouwwqna speak. It thanked us for taking it home. I started to explain that we would be dropping it at the centre of the nebula; to which it said to let it go where we were.
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Before we transported the Spouwwqna out I explained to it that we would be setting warning beacons around the area so that it could never again hurt or take over any one. It said "we understand" and with that Security beamed it out of the ship.
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Ops made ready 12 warning beacons and they were deployed in a sphere formation. Science and Ops both checked to see that the beacons were working, and with the all clear I gave Helm the order to set a course for Astraios and home.

Our mission to rid Treman of the Spouwwqnas has been accomplished. We have conveyed our thanks and bid farewell to the USS Ghana and USS Colossus. We have foiled yet another attempt by Cmdr Lee and his crew to take over the ship; with them all being unceremoniously beamed back to their Patrol Ship.

There is concern amongst the crew about us having a Spouwwqna in the cargo hold - albeit in a frozen condition and within a stasis field.Thus we now need to travel to the Takaaar Nebula to drop off the Spouwwqna as quickly as possible.

Once accomplished, we will return to Astraios; enabling hospital treatment to be given to the injured and some well deserved rest, recovery and recreation for the remainder of the crew.

Commander Genny7 Markus reporting: We have returned to the ship and our guest Spouwwqna is nicely frozen and inside a stasis field ready for transportation home to the nebula.

All stations reported being ready to get under way, so I ordered the helm to move us close enough to the Treman patrol ship so that we could return Commander Lee and his crew to their ship. At the same time I asked Ops to open a channel to Brigadier Khan and when he came on line I informed him that the planet was now completely clear of the Spouwwqnas and that we would be taking our leave of him. I also thanked him for his cooperation and told him that I hoped we could continue the peaceful cooperation between Astraois and Treman that we had shared. He pointed out that we were still holding Commander Lee and crew and he wanted them returned immediately. I told him that we were at that moment heading towards the patrol ship to return them.

I contacted both the USS Ghana and the USS Colossus and thanked them for all their help, and wished them a safe journey back to their patrol areas.
Just then Commander Barbosa reported weird readings from the brig area and I ordered a security team to check it out straight away. I didn't have to wait very long to find out that Commander Lee and his crew had sedated blue security team and made their escape. I gave the order for all cargo bays and transporter stations to be covered by security and LTjg Yalin scanned the ship and found them heading for shuttle bay 1. Security was sent to the shuttle bay and Commander Barbosa asked Ops if he could get a transport lock on to them, and with a successful transporter lock they were returned to their ship.

Only one problem remained and it came charging onto the bridge - Cmdr Lee, shouting that his crew was now in control of the ship and he was taking over. I took great delight in telling him that his crew were back on the patrol ship and that he was about to join them. Ops got a transporter lock on to him and he was returned to his ship as well.

After a complete check was made of the ship I ordered Helm to lay in a course to take us to the Taakar Nebula; once plotted I ordered us to impulse until we cleared the system and then to Warp 2 to the Nebula....

The Away Team mission have successfully installed the last NEF Generator on the surface of Treman.
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However whilst there, a lone Spouwwqna was discovered hiding in the Throne Room of the Palace.
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Although it was anticipated that the Spouwwqna would have to be killed in a similar manner to the other two Spouwwqnas previously found in a nearby location, it transpired that the alien convinced the Away Team that it was the last of its kind and should not be killed. It was agreed that the lone Spouwwqna would be frozen and beamed aboard the 'Armstrong. The alien would then be taken back to the Takaar nebula so that, as requested, it would be able to die there.
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Our mission to rid Treman of the Spouwwqnas was accomplished. We will shortly convey our thanks and bid farewell to the USS Ghana and USS Colossus. We will then make our way back to Astraios via the Takaar Nebula, in order to drop off the lone Spouwwqna.
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Also Cmdr Lee and his crew, who are currently enjoying the hospitality of the Brig, must not be forgotten. They need to be released and returned to their Patrol ship.

Commander Genny7 Markus reporting: Commander Bravin and myself returned to the ship with heavy hearts, we had tried to talk to the Spouwwqnas, but with no success and had ended up having to kill them before they had killed us.

Science has scanned the planet for Spouwwqnas but none had be found, so on with the mission, we had the last generator to position on the planet before we could head back to Astraios and maybe some R&R.
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Quite by chance the last generator was to be positioned at the Temple site near to our encounter with the Spouwwqnas, so I asked OPs to call for the beta bridge crew so that we could enjoy some fresh air and deliver the generator..We arrived down on Treman and Captain Quar collected a cargo handler to move the generator into position at the Temple. While he was unpacking and setting it up I decided to take some readings of the area, I mentioned to Commander Bravin that I was getting strange readings from the building near to us which I thought was the palace. He agreed to investigate and reported back that there was something on the first floor.
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The Commander and I left the others to finish setting up the generator and went to have a look. We took the lift to the first floor and standing near to the throne was another Spouwwqna. I gave the order that no one was to get near to it once the others had arrived and turned to speak to the Spouwwqna. I told it that it should return to its home and leave humans alone. It was just as bad tempered as the last two and when I told it that I had been forced to kill two already, it told me not to kill it as now it was the last of its kind. When I commented that we had driven the rest of its kind back to its home in the Taakar Nebula it then said that it was the last here on the planet. It then told us that it had to eat and that it wanted humanoid energy.
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Doctor Brogdrum had been scanning the creature and realised that it needed our bio electricity and came up with an idea to help it. She contacted the ship and a barrel of gagh arrived between us and it. She stepped forward and asked it to try to eat some; obviously gagh suited it for it was soon gone but it needed more. It then said that it needed to go home to die, so we suggested that if we could freeze it with liquid nitrogen and transport it to the ship in a stasis field, we could store it in a cargo hold and drop it off in the nebula on our way home....

Our three Federation vessels moving around Treman in coordinated orbits emitting the nanite energy frequency from their deflector dishes aimed at the planet, appear to have removed the Spouwwqna from the population.
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Scans using ultra violet light detected a cluster of Spouwwqna at a specific location on the planet's surface.
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An Away Team beamed down to the surface and confronted the Spouwwqnas, resulting in Cmdr Barbosa coming under their influence and having to be stunned and beamed up to Sickbay.
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It was decided that the Spouwwqna had to be killed - however phasers proved useless against the gaseous aliens. A quantity of liquid nitrogen was beam at down to the Spouwwqna's location, resulting in them become frozen solid and thus enabling phaser fire to destroy them.
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Once final checks are made on Treman, the 'Armstrong should be able to leave orbit and head back to Astraios - dropping off Cmdr Lee and his crew along the way

Commander Genny7 Markus reporting: Now that the planet seems free of the Spouwwqnas, Science have been scanning and we found that there was a cluster of them still on the planet. We can't leave them there, otherwise this whole thing will start all over again.As I was making my mind up as to the best solution, I watched Commander Lee prowling around the bridge stations, sitting at some of the stations and trying to work out how they worked. I had had enough, I ordered him away from the Helm and when he asked me where he should go, I told him he would be joining the rest of his crew in the Brig. Commander Barbosa called a Security team to the bridge to escort him to the brig.

One problem out of the way, now having made my decision, I ordered an Away Team to assemble ready to beam down to the planet and deal with the Spouwwqnas. Commander Barbosa was very much against my decision to kill the final Spouwwqnas and pointed out to me the prime directive. I told her and the rest of the away team that I had considered this point a great deal, but unless the Spouwwqnas could be convinced to stop what they were doing to the people of every planet they came to, then I could see no other way to deal with them. I will face the Captain and Command and take what ever punishment they consider I deserve.

We beamed down leaving the other to ships to deal with any patrol ships that were still affected. When we arrived we were faced with gaseous forms, but when the gas moved you could see humanoid forms. Doctor Lane stepped forward and tried to communicate with them, while I tried to talk to them telepathically. I had no luck, but Doctor Lane had them talking, but they sounded just like the Borg, there was no way they were going to change their ways. Just then Commander Barbosa moved into the gaseous cloud. Suddenly she begins to speak with the voice of the Spouwwqnas - she has been taken over. I had no other choice and ordered her to be stunned. Bravely Doctor Lane rushes in to the cloud and pulls her out, and with his medical tricorder he is able to tell us that she in unconscious but stable. I order him to take her immediately to sickbay, leaving Commander Bravin and myself to deal with the Spouwwqnas. We set our phasers to kill and fired but the shot went straight through them so Commander Bravin ordered the ship to send down a quantity of liquid nitrogen which then froze them and our beams were then able to hit and kill them.

Commander Bravin and I returned to the ship and headed for sickbay. Commander Barbosa was on a bio bed being treated by Doctor Lane and his staff but seemed still to under the influence of the Spouwwqnas, so Commander Bravin set up a generator next to the bed, the outcome was not looking good. Suddenly the Commander flat lined - she was gone. I called to Doctor Lane to revive her immediately and I was so very pleased to see her return to us.

Background: Encrypted orders were given to the USS Armstrong (Galaxy Class) to proceed to the Treman system, with the USS Ghana (Excelsior Class) and USS Colossus (Sovereign Class). There were grave concerns that the Spouwwqna have infiltrated the Treman military government and the planet population, many of whom are space pirates, traders, and others concerned with profit or power. Treman must be freed from Spouwwqnan influence or the result may be another war between Treman and Astraios. Science feels three vessels moving around Treman in coordinated orbits, emitting the nanite frequency from their deflector dishes, aimed at the planet, will remove the Spouwwqna from the population.
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The response received from Brigadier Khan to Cmdr Markus's request (for the Federation ships to orbit Treman and emit the nanite energy frequency in order to remove the Spouwwqna from the population) indicated that the Brigadier was under the influence of the Spouwwqna.

Cmdr Lee and Cmdr Barbosa teleported to the Brigadier's location and with the use of a portable NEFG were able to release the Brigadier from the alien influence. The Brigadier subsequently gave his permission for the Federation ships to orbit the planet and carry out the necessary operation against the Spouwwqna.

The USS Neil Armstrong, the USS Ghana and the USS Colossus are now orbiting Treman as planned, emitting the nanite energy frequency via their deflector dishes.The effectiveness of the operation is being closely monitored ... there is some concern that even with the concerted efforts of three vessels, some areas of the planet may be missed.

Encrypted: I am still aboard the USS Neil Armstrong in orbit above Treman. Repairs to the ship are currently being carried out by Starfleet crews. Whilst I remain on the Bridge, my crew from the "Bravo" are in being held the Brig. Not having received a reply from Brigadier Khan, I contacted him again via the 'Armstrong's communication system.
.The response I received from Brigadier Khan, led me to believe that he was under the influence of the aliens called the Spouwwqna. I therefore informed Cmdr Markus that as such, she was unlikely to receive the operational permission she was seeking.

It was suggested that I teleport to the Brigadier's location, accompanied by a Starfleet officer with a portable NEFG, in the hope that we would be able to rid the Brigadier of the alien's influence and thus be able to obtain the sought after permission.I requested that my crew be allowed to accompany us on this mission to Treman, but this was refused.

Cmdr Barbosa (the 'Armstrong's Chief Security Officer) and I duly teleported to the surface of Treman, where we met Brigadier Khan. Cmdr Barbosa immediately turned the portable NEFG she had with her onto the Brigadier. The Brigadier's initial hostility towards us was soon replaced by an understanding of the situation, as he recalled my earlier communication to him. He gave his permission for Starfleet to undertake the procedure to free Treman of the alien Spouwwqna and stated that he would notify the other Treman military leaders of the operation. Cmdr Barbosa and I then teleported back to the Argonaut and informed Cmdr Markus that our mission had been sucessful.

While Cmdr Markus and the other Bridge officers were busy making the necessary preparations with the other two Federation ships, I took the opportunity to have a good look around the Bridge of the Armstrong. I again asked that my crew be released from detention, but my request was refused once more.

The USS Neil Armstrong and the other two Federation ships then started their orbits of Treman whilst emitting the Nanite Energy Frequency that will hopefully rid us of the alien Spouwwqna.

Commander Genny7 Markus, Acting Captain, reporting: We are still in orbit around Treman waiting for Commander Lee to make contact with Brigadier Khan. I offered him a UFS channel for contact but he declined and used his own. I am unsure what language the reply came in but the tone was enough to tell me that (i) the Brigadier was under the control of the Spouwwqnas and (ii) that it had not been in the least polite. My next question to Commander Lee was if our ship move further in towards the planet will we be fired upon? His answer was quite probably.

Commander Lane came up with a very good suggestion, why not transport Commander Lee to the Brigadier's office with a portable NEFG. It was at this point that Commander Barbosa asked to speak to me in private, so we went to talk in my office just off the bridge. I had suggested to the bridge crew that we could transport some of Commander Lee's crew down to the surface with a NEFG, but Commander Barbosa was strongly against this idea and suggested that she should transport down with Commander Lee to the Brigadier's office. I was very concerned for the Cmdr Barbosa's safety but had to agree, that because we didn't trust Commander Lee, this would be the best way to get permission.

Once Commander Barbosa was fitted with a portable NEFG they transported down to the planet. I gave the order for a transport lock to be kept on Commander Barbosa the whole time. To keep our nerves under control we made polite conversation to pass the time, but I admit that it had been very hard for me to agree to this plan and put a member of the crew in a dangerous situation.

Suddenly we heard the Cmdr Barbosa asking for beam up for 2. They came straight to the bridge and reported that both the Brigadier and his office staff were now clear of the Spouwwqnas and permission had been given for our ships to move into position. I asked Ops to contact the other two ships and tell them to move into their new orbit of the planet. It took us some time to reach our orbit position, and once our other two ships signalled that they too were in position we set our deflector dishes with the NEFG beam and began the operation.Once this had been running for a while I asked Science to run scans to determine where the Spouwwqnas were gathered so that a landing party could be sent down to wipe them out.

Reporting: Commander Genny7 Markus, Acting Captain, USS Neil Armstrong - I returned to the Bridge from Sickbay where I had been checking with Doctor Brogdrum on the condition of the Captain and crew, to find that the Captain's chair had been taken over by Commander Lee. To say that I was not best pleased would be an understatement. I immediately ordered him out of the chair, where upon he took my chair instead.

He proceeded to tell me that he had received a new trajectory for our geosynchronous orbit. This puzzled me and I asked him whether these new orders had come from the planet's authorities. Again he puzzled me by saying that it was his superiors.
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I began to have an uneasy feeling that we were being led in to a trap which he had set. He passed the new heading to Captain Quar at Helm. Commander Barbosa asked for permission to raise the shields, but to keep Commander Lee at ease I commented that we were among friends and that there was no need.
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I thought it was about time to show our hand and asked Ops to contact our other ships, the USS Ghana and the USS Colossus, giving them our new heading and advising them that we could do with help from their engineers repairing our ship.
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Commander Lee told us that now that we were in the new orbit he would arrange the delivery of the materials for our repairs. Commander Barbosa suggested to me that we should have a security welcome waiting and when questioned by Commander Lee she told him that it was for his own protection.
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We made contact with the Ghana and arranged for them to meet with us and the Colossus as well, we would then have the spare parts and engineers to begin repairs. This unsettled Commander Lee and worse was to come when security blocked a teleport attempt and held them in the buffers. It seemed that Commander Lee had planned to take over our ship. Once out of the buffers his crew were taken to the Brig.
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Commander Lee was at this time acting very confused, and when confronted by burly Security Officers, told us that things had been changing while he was on Treman, but that since being aboard our ship his mind had begun to clear. I then went on to explain to him about the Spouwwqnas and about the generator that our Officers had developed to combat them. He then agreed to contact his authorities for permission for us to complete our mission and free Treman of the Spouwwqnas without starting a war between Treman and Astraios.

Background: Encrypted orders were given to the USS Neil Armstrong (Galaxy Class) to proceed to the Treman system, with the USS Ghana (Excelsior Class) and USS Colossus (Sovereign Class). There were grave concerns that the Spouwwqna have infiltrated the Treman military government and the planet population, many of whom are space pirates, traders, and others concerned with profit or power. Treman must be freed from Spouwwqnan influence or the result may be another war between Treman and Astraios. Science feels three vessels moving around Treman in coordinated orbits, emitting the nanite frequency from their deflector dishes, aimed at the planet, will remove the Spouwwqna from the population.

Cmdr Lee of the Treman patrol ship "Bravo" is aboard the Armstrong, he is directing us to an authorized trajetory for geosynchronous orbit of the planet Treman. He seems willing to trade with us although his prices are steep for the repairs and supplies we need... we continue with the deception that our systems are damaged and many crew injured. He informs us that his team is preparing the items we need and they will be transported aboard when we arrive at the specified location.

We need to send our expected coordinates to Ghana and Collossus so they can find a way to move in liaision with us. It is crucial we get align the emissions from our 3 deflector dishes to create a 'fallout' of nanite frequency transmissions in the planet atmosphere - we have no doubt the aggressive nature of the Tremanites has been increased 10-fold by the parasitic Spouwwqna.

Meantime a 'confused' and 'passive' Cmdr Markus keeps Cmdr Lee busy with negotiations... and Captain Toocool is in sickbay with the 'injured'... and our apparently-without-warp-drive Galaxy class ship moves at slow impulse to its orbital position.

MESSAGE:You are hereby instructed to bring USS Armstrong to a position of 367 m 23 in geosynchronous orbit of Treman, and advise this Cmdr Markus an additional team from Treman will need to beam aboard with the supplies she needs, the team will also pick up her trade items. When their shields are lowered, you are instructed to beam aboard all available personnel from Bravo to different areas of the ship. Contact me when you have it under your control.

REPORT:Aboard the Treman Patrol Ship "Bravo", we detected a Galaxy class Federation ship heading towards Treman. I hailed them and asked that they state their intentions.

I received a response from a Cmdr Markus of the USS Neil Armstrong, saying that their ship had been damaged in the Takaar Nebula and that the crew had suffered many injuries, adding that they were wanting to go to Treman to carry out repairs.

I felt that this was an opportunity not to be missed. I informed Cmdr Markus that I would need to come aboard in order to "pilot" their ship to a safe orbit around Treman.

Having teleported onto their bridge, I was able to direct their Helmsman to a suitable orbit.

I enquired about the repairs that were needed to their ship and offered to be of assistance, since it seemed to me that they could afford to pay well for such help. They informed me that amongst other things they needed some dilithium crystals, which I offered to obtain for them at a good price. However I rejected their suggestion of payment in Federation credits, and pursued the alternative of trade instead.

As the ship began orbiting Treman, Cmdr Markus wanted to speak with the planet's Authorities. I informed her that this was not necessary, as I had already informed the authorities of the situation. #

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I am Captain Poison Toocool, roleplaying Star Trek as an avatar in the metaverse of 3rd Rock Grid. Myself and my crew are tasked with the mission of 'broadening horizons' within the Gamma Quadrant. We offer an immersive Trek experience for every avatar, with a fully functioning Starfleet Academy as well as missions on the station and a variety of NPC vessels, including our flagship, the Galaxy-class USS Neil Armstrong. We aim to provide great roleplay opportunities, activities, a sense of belonging, and - most importantly - fun. Visitors are welcome to explore, observe and participate!
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